Better than other Bay films

Rating: 5/10 (9 July 2005)

I just saw a sneak preview of this and I must say that I was a little surprised by this movie. First the strengths: The concept of the cloning and the harvested people is pretty fascinating and is rather thought provoking especially in times when debate over stem cell research rages. How far is too far in medical research? And when does the desire to help people turn into unethical pride and other immoral whims? In this way the movie struck me as very good. The special effects are also great, the action scenes are intense, and the acting is actually pretty solid in general.
The weaknesses do drag the movie down and left me with a sense of emptiness as I walked out of the theater. They include too much action, not enough character development, and bad direction of acting. For example, Scarlett Johansson, as good an actress as she is, gives it her best shot, but sometimes her acting seems forced. This is not because of lack of talent, because she has plenty of it, but rather due to deficiencies in directing and writing. I would of loved to see more depth to McGregor's and Johansson's characters. Furthermore, there is so much action that it takes away from developing characters and more interesting plot details. The cinematography during the action scenes is very shaky and therefore takes away from the consistency of the scenes a bit.
Overall I recommend it if you want entertaining food for thought that poses ethical questions about oppression, science, and hierarchy.